Now everything changes?

Maybe not.

I have learned in the last eight months how to back up all forms of trailers, how to cook hanger steak, how to handle and move cows, sheep, pigs, ducks, chickens, turkeys and geese, how to keep them enclosed in electric fences and feed them until it's their time to go to "the better place" (i.e. all of ours and our customers' bellies). I have discovered a knack for marketing food and a love of people's journeys to find good eats. I have sweated non-stop through weeks of blazing hot days of high humidity to find my body acclimating slowly but surely. I have cried and prayed and watched my dreams and fears realized at the same time. I have learned that farm partnerships are difficult. Maybe that's the biggest lesson in my mind right now.

Here's some advice for anyone who is thinking of joining his/her life to others' via a work partnership: Talk about your needs up front and make sure they're being heard. Next, make sure the quality of life you desire is similar to that of the incumbents'. Check your definitions. There are a lot of words out there like "sustainability", "humane" and even "small" that are used but might not be what you are expecting when you find out your future partners' take on the matter. Once these matters are discussed, test what you've found out by watching how things actually work and whether it all jives with what's been said during the discussions.

Finally, I think it's important to continue talking about this stuff on an ongoing basis and meeting regularly simply to check on the status of the partnership. Scratch important and substitute "of utmost importance and a high priority". You can't just go through a bunch of difficult discussions, trying to figure out if you're coming together, and then just say "Well, I'm glad that's over" (even if you are). It's never over. And if you think it is, then it all will be fairly shortly.

Oh yeah, and don't let fear force your hand. Life is amazing and it's possible to have all you need and be joyful without putting a lot of pressure and expectations on someone else and yourself. Time isn't short. It can actually be pretty long :)